Treehouse
by orphanblack
Summary: Seven different one shots, all completely unrelated to one another, and all about Cade. This is two out of seven. Written for 7 Days Of Victorious Prompts.


**The second prompt for x-clownsdontbounce-x and YouCan'tControlMe's Victorious Prompt week. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Cat and Jade are eight years old when they first discover the abandoned treehouse in the middle of some grubby, vacant lot. Cat was hesitant to climb up into the tree, but Jade pressured her into it and well ― they've only been friends for a few months and Cat was slightly intimidated by the girl, so she went up regardless. The treehouse's floor appeared to be covered by layers of dirt and the walls were lined with copious amounts of cobwebs. Cat almost cried when she encountered an enormous black spider, but Jade repeatedly stomped on it before she could even start tearing up.<p>

"Thanks Jadey."

"Don't call me that."

Of course Cat continues to call her that anyway ― they were only eight and she mostly did it to lovingly bug Jade. Plus she liked the nickname.

They spend the next couple of days cleaning up the treehouse. Within weeks, any ordinary person would never be able to tell that the place was abandoned. In addition to tidying up the treehouse, Cat and Jade even decorated it and painted the walls red and black to the best of their ability (Cat's favorite color was red, Jade's was black).

"Cat and Jade's Super Fun Secret Treehouse." Cat said out of the blue.

"What?"

"We need a name for this place, silly!"

"No we don't. And if we did make up a name for this place, it wouldn't be that."

Cat pouted. "Why not?"

"Because it's dumb."

"Okay, how about just 'Cat and Jade's Secret Treehouse,' then?"

Jade knows that if she rejects Cat again, she'll backfire with a million other ideas. She rolls her eyes in defeat and says, "Fine."

* * *

><p>Cat and Jade are now fourteen, and they still spend a bunch of time together in their treehouse. At this point it wasn't even a silly little club or anything, but just an escape for the both of them. Kind of like a place where they could completely unwind and be themselves. Since they first came across the treehouse six years ago, the two of them have certainly become busier, but time (or lack of it) could never get in the way of their friendship ― it was too strong. Despite everything on their plates and the new people they had met, they swore to each other that they'd never drift apart. So they visited the treehouse as frequently as possible just to hang out and talk. In a way, the treehouse evolved into a symbol of their friendship.<p>

* * *

><p>They're fifteen, and now Cat's hair is bright red and Jade has pink highlights and an eyebrow piercing. Also, the two of them are lucky if they even get to meet at the treehouse once a week anymore. Cat began hanging around the beloved Tori Vega and somehow rose to popularity, and Jade started to hang out with that theater kid, Beck Oliver.<p>

Oh, and Cat was 100% sure that she was in love with Jade. She's known since she was thirteen, but she would never dare to tell her, especially since it was so blatantly obvious she had a thing for that Beck guy. Also, Cat didn't know if Jade even _liked _girls. Sure, they told each other everything, but that topic had never once came up in one of their discussions. It's not like Cat could tell Jade anyway, they barely ever saw each other.

* * *

><p>The two girls are sixteen now, and at this point, they only hang out once a month. That's twelve times a year, and Cat made the biggest mistake of her life the eighth time. She <em>kissed<em> Jade. It lasted a good thirty seconds, and Cat was shocked to find that Jade didn't pull away, but it ended abruptly when she finally did.

"What the fuck was that?" Jade's eyebrows furrowed.

"That was a kiss." Cat stated the obvious with a genial smile on her face.

"You can't just kiss your friends like that."

"You didn't exactly pull away, you know."

"Why did you kiss me, Cat?" She asked, quickly changing the subject.

Cat stayed silent.

"Tell me why!" Jade yelled, sounding much more aggressive than she intended to.

"Because I, I uh,"

"Because you uh, _what_?"

"Because I love you!" Cat blurted out. Once the words spilled, she instantly regretted them. She was under pressure, and Cat did _not_ act out well under pressure.

Jade stared at her, dumbfounded. She couldn't even believe what her ears were hearing. She also didn't know whether to get angry or feel sorry for the girl. "I love Beck," was all she managed to say.

Cat's eyes were glued to the treehouse's floor, too embarrassed to face her. "I know." She mumbled.

"Maybe we should spend some time apart. Maybe over time, whatever feelings you have will just... go away."

"But they won't go away, Jade! I've loved you for three years now, and no matter how much we grew apart, I still loved you. I don't know how to not love you." She almost cried, looking up at Jade.

"I gotta go." She said, leaving Cat in solitary. Cat didn't get angry, though. She understood why Jade left.

* * *

><p>They're eighteen now and Cat and Jade haven't spoken a word to each other outside of school in two years. Who knew that three little words could turn best friends into complete strangers.<p>

Also, Cat got a boyfriend. Robbie Shapiro. She really liked him, but she didn't love him, and she felt bad because he loved her more than anything. Cat knew what love felt like, and she certainly didn't feel it with Robbie. Nonetheless, Cat still wanted a boyfriend and she did really like him after all.

Jade and Beck have only gotten closer within the past few years. There was one brief break up, and Cat wanted to be there for Jade more than anything in the world when she heard about it, but she just couldn't. Jade was happy now, and she hoped that Cat was happy too.

It didn't take long for news to spread about the vacant lot being bought by one of the largest tract housing companies in the country. Of course this news didn't mean anything to most people, but Cat and Jade both knew it meant that their treehouse would be destroyed. That treehouse was the symbol of their friendship, knowing some guys with bulldozers were going to remorselessly tear it down didn't exactly make them feel so great.

Construction was to begin on Monday morning, so somehow on Friday evening Cat found herself sitting unaccompanied in the treehouse, thinking about everything that ever occurred in the very room. It didn't exactly surprise Cat when she saw Jade standing in the doorway area of the house.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll leave." Jade began to climb back down until Cat stopped her.

"No, stay." The raven haired girl started to climb up again and sat next to her old friend.

"Hi." She attempted to smile.

"Hi." Cat glanced at her.

The two of them weren't exactly sure what to say to one another. Should they talk about their new friends? About what was going on in their lives right now? Instead, Cat had a question that she'd been dying to ask Jade, but never got the chance.

"Why didn't you pull away?" Her voice was quiet.

"Huh?"

"When I... kissed you. You kissed me back for a while. Why didn't you pull away?"

Jade tried to speak, but the words refused to come out. "I don't know. I guess I kind of enjoyed it."

"Oh." She shot her a tight smile. A rosy color flourished across her cheeks, which made it difficult to mask her happiness at that moment. "I really wish they weren't gonna tear this place down." She added.

"Me too."

Silence consumed the room for the remainder of the time they spent sitting there. The whole thing felt a bit awkward, which was ironic since the treehouse was the one place that they could always unwind and be comfortable with each other. Suddenly, Jade grabbed a hold of Cat's hand and interlocked their fingers. Cat nearly winced, but instead just squeezed a little tighter.

Maybe everything would be okay.


End file.
